The Path of a Leader
by Animefreak99-06
Summary: In an alternate feudal Japan, Kaos places Ryo in charge of finding eight others like himself to fight a Demon named Arago. And Ryo must team up with Kayura in order to find the others.
1. Poor Young Ninja

Konnichiwa Minna-San. Animefreak99-06 here again. I really liked Chibi Washuu's story 'Feudal Honor', and I read a few books on ninja and samurai, and I thought,"I think I want to write a story similar to that one." So without further ado I present my new story. Disclaimers: 1. **I have no intention of copying Chibi Washuu's story, so if the story starts to sound just like her's, please let me know, so that way I can remove it and rewrite it**. 2. I don't own Samurai Troopers. And only one of my characters from 'Cursed Maidens' will appear in this story, the rest will not. 3. The armors will not appear until **all** the characters are assembeled. And 4.This is a Fantasy/Alternate Universe story. Just so you know. And now on with the story.

The Path of a Leader

Chapter 1 Poor Young Ninja

He had to get to his target. Never mind he had no known enemies. He just had to find his target, of his entire family would be killed. The pain in his left side only managed to remind him of this. When he completed his task, he would return and kill the hooded man, Badamon and his female accomplice, Shakalli.

_He was a ninja, and every now and then, his family was contacted or placed under contract to kill, injury, or kidnap whoever they were contacted to. This time he and his family were asked to kill the new head of a very famous family, the Date family. _

_There were problems with the request however. The family was in Sendai, a considerable distance from the home of the Sanada ninja family that lived in Yamanashi. Another was the target himself. They were asked to kill the only male heir to that family. The former head had died only two weeks ago of natural causes, and had left a huge burden on his only grandson, Seiji. The young man was only sixteen, yet he now had say over over several servants, loyal warriors and many more. And the mysterious man making the strange request was wanting the Sanada family to send one or two of their own to kill young Seiji._

_His father, Sanada Shiro, had distrusted the pair when they had walked into their tiny village like home. Shiro and his wife, Rena, had told all four of their children to always trust their instincts, and his instincts told him that the pair walking to his father was that they were evil. But his father admitted them. His young sister ,Himeno, the only remaining girl born into the Sanada's, screamed in pain, and passed out from seeing them. He and his younger brothers knew what that meant. Bad things were going to happen. _

_And less then an hour later, Shiro, Rena, Himeno, his younger brothers, and the rest of his family. was being held for ransom. If he as the oldest male Sanada, couldn't fufill the cantract by returning without killing Seiji, he would be left an orphan and a only child. When he tried to help his younger brothers, the hooded Badamon had Shakalli strike the young ninja. Shakalli was more than a little furious that he had avoided her sword, but that soon disappeared. He went to dodge her swing, when he saw her draw a short sword, and he couldn't get a way from two strikes at once. The short sword struck his left side, going at least two inches deep. _

_He went down and was clutching his side as he heard his sister call out to him, but he couldn't hear what she yelled. It seemed as though Badamon had placed a forcefield around everyone, except him. Shakalli bent down, grabbed the young ninja by the throat, and picked him up off the ground. As he tried to kick her to make her drop him, she told him, that he had to do as he was told, or else every week he was gone, four members of his family would be killed. He had stopped struggling and nodded his head that he would do what had been asked of him._

_Shakalli had him get his things together and told him, that she would make sure that he knew which of his family members died. Through the wound itself, she would let him know, quiet painfully, that more would die until Seiji was dead._

That had been two weeks ago. And if he was gone two more days, only a few cousins, his younger siblings and his parents would be left. He had to get to Sendai. He prayed that his family could forgive him for what he was about to do. And he wished the tiger, that protected the forest around the home of the Sanada's, would somehow protect his family and help them. It was all he could do.

At the same time, on the same night, in Sendai, young Date Seiji, knew that someone was approaching that was intent on killing him. Or being killed by him. Seiji hoped he was just stressed out. But deep down he knew better. He told those on guard to be extra careful for the next three or four days, especially at night. He was not taking chances. If someone was coming to kill him, he wanted to make sure the invader was caught and punished. And he was worried about his sisters, if some thing happened to him, his sisters would have to choose who was worthy to be the knew head of their family.

The young ninja had arrived at the large city that was Sendai just before dawn. He had to arrive and make an entrance like any normal person, so he choose to wait until it was later in the day to enter the city. As he waited he dismounted and went insearch of clean water. When he found a stream, he filled his water pouches, and then he removed his shirt and checked his wound. He had bathed three days ago, and his wound had been red. Now when he checked it, he could smell something that smelled terrible and he knew it was infected. Even though he was a ninja, he knew little about wounds and infections.

He had only slain his enemies, thinking about that made remember everyone he had killed. He knew as a ninja he has not to be disturbed by worrying about the death he had inflicted. But he couldn't help but think about what he and his family was doing was wrong. And after he had killed a person, he prayed for the person. He had been told doing so meant that a ninja had weakness and therefore could be hesitant to kill. He however had seen his father, grandfather, and a few cousins doing the same thing he did, but chose to keep quiet about it, and to keep doing what he had been doing for his victims. He hoped this time that he would return to see his family. And should he kill Seiji he would pray for him like he always did.

He washed his wound carefully, as it was painful to touch, dressed it, replaced his shirt, and went back to his horse. The horse looked at him and saw that he was holding his side. The horse nudged his shoulder and tried to get his mind off of whatever was on his mind. The ninja knew what the horse was tring to do and looked for some oats to feed the horse. He knew the first place he was going to go was the livery stables. to make sure his horse got the best treatment possible. He feed the horse and waited for the sun to get higher in the sky. He heard a noise and turned to see a bird flying to a low branch. When he turned however, he gasped, and held his side.

He looked down at his side to see it was bleeding, again. And everytime it started to bleed, it hurt at least twice as bad as the time before. At present, it felt like some one was trying to brand him with a white hot poker. Panting, he silently hoped to kill Seiji, before the wound killed him. He didn't want to kill, but he hoped he would be able to fight to the death, that way if he failed in killing Seiji, he would at least be taken out of his misery. If he was caught, he could always kill himself, either way, his family would be safe. His horse winnied, and he suddenly felt like someone was trying to calm him down. He looked the horse straight in the eyes and smiled.

_Ever since he was little, he knew he could understand what animals were thinking. Well, he could only sense there emotions, like if they were angry, or scared. He could only understand what the** tiger** was thinking. When he little, he had wondered into the woods and gotten lost. He heard a noise and turned to see a large white tiger slowly moving towards him. He was scared, and tried to back away. He didn't get very far as he backed into a wide tree. He started shaking his head and tears fell down his face. As the tiger advanced, he closed his eyes, expressing loudly that his life end quickly. He started cring when at tongue licked his face. But then he heard in his mind,_

_'I will not hurt you young one. You are from the Sanada family, and I made a promise to an ancestor of yours, several years ago, not to hurt your family. Don't cry young one, I have no intention to break my promise, or to eat you. I am the protector of this forest. The animals call me guardian, your family called me friend, but you can call me Byakuen. I promise not hurt you or your family.' the little ninja opened his eyes and saw the tiger staring at him calmly. He lifted his hand slowly to touch the tiger. When he felt the soft fur of the tiger, he heard what sounded like purring coming from the tiger. He was happy and rubbed the tiger's fur. He began to say something, stopped, shook his head, and opened him mouth again,_

_"Your a tiger. So how is it that I heard you? I'm human, so how come I can understand you?", the tiger looked him in the eyes and then he heard,_

_'You just heard everything I said? But that is impossible. No one, not even your ancestor could hear me. You, child, are special, and you possess a gift, or a few gifts, that make you very unique. Guard this ability of yours, evil and dangerous people may seek you out. Don't tell any one of what you have talked about. Do you understand?'_

_"Oh, I see. But what if I need you, or your help? I don't think the others will like me calling a tiger to help me. What then?"_

_'Try to speak to me without talking, young one.'_

_'And how do I do that?'_

_'You just did. Now if you ever need me just consintrate on takling to me without speaking. And I will come to you. All you have to do is call my name. Byakuen'_

_'Okay. Byakuen. Thank you. My friend' from then on all he had to do was call out to Byakuen, even if it was to visit him._

And now he wished Byakuen could help his family. He sat down causing another pain to shoot through his side. The horse looked at him again, and again he could feel a calming presence, but this time he also felt worry. He rubbed the horses left front leg and told him everything was going to be alright. Or so he hoped. Then he closed his eyes, and tried to take a nap.

Sumimasen. I made my first chapter so long. I was trying to put in the information I needed. Until next time, Animefreak99-06 signing out.


	2. Failed Assassination

Konnichiwa. Arigato, to everyone who read the first chater of this story. In case you didn't figure out who the ninja is, it's Ryo, but for the time being, his name will be something different. You'll find out why later on. Anyway, on to the disclaimers. Disclaimers: 1. I don't own Samurai Troopers. I only own Shakalli. 2. As stated before, the armors will not appear until everyone is assembeled. 3. This is supposed to take place in the feudal period, but in a fantasy like alternate universe. Now on with chapter two.

Path of a Leader

Chapter 2 Failed Assassination

Seiji woke up early that morning. He had had little sleep, and choose to wake up and get this seemingly long day started. He could sense a dangerous force in or near the city. He could only wait and see what the force choose to do. As he was walking down a long corridor, he sensed someone trying to approach him very quietly. He smiled, and spoke,

"Satsuki-chan, you know better than to sneak up on me like that. If I had my no-datchi, I could have hurt you for doing what you were doing." Satsuki looked at the back of her onii-san's head and started to pout. "Don't start with that now. You're to old to be doing that."

"Onii-san, you're no fun since ojii-san died. We used to be able to joke around and play, well when we weren't in his presence. Now you just act like since you're the boss, that onee-san and I are supposed to act like mature adults. Onee-san is an adult, as she is older than you, but I'm still young. I don't want to grow up, or act grown up, until I have to."and with that, she turned around and went back to her room. Seiji turned to watch her disappear down the hall, looking a little depressed. Of both of his sisters, he was the closest to his younger sister.

Hearing Satsuki say what she had just said, made him feel bad. He knew that when his ojii-san died, he had to make sure everyone knew that he was the boss. And appearently, he had, he had been bossing both of his sisters around too. His older sister, Yayoi, had understood, as she was the oldest, and most mature of the three of them. She didn't mind being bossed around, of course she was not always there. She had been spending alot of time with the healers for the past three years now.

So that left his little sister to take the brunt of his orders. And that made him madder than anything else. He would have to apologize to her later. Now he had to speak to the guards.

A few hours after dawn, the young ninja was awakened by a sharp pain in his side. Suppressing a curse, he held his side in the hopes that the pain would go away. It didn't and it only got worse. However, now that it was light enough, he could enter the city. He mounted his horse, and left the safety of the thicket he had entered at dawn that morning. upon entering the, somewhat heavyly guarded city, he started towards the nearest inn that he could stay at while he was here.

Once he arrived, he once again dismounted, not even bothering to tie his horse to a post, and entered the inn. He was greeted by the owner and his wife. When they asked his name, he debated on wether or not to give his real name or not. Choosing to tell the truth, he told them his name was Sanada Keno. (In this story, his name will change from Keno to Ryo.) He asked where the livery stables were and went back outside. He grabbed the reins of his horses bridle and gently led his horse there. He went in, asked the attendant(?) if he could take good care of the horse. When the young man nooded, Keno, tipped him with a big chunk of change. Then he went back to the inn. He would need more rest before he could even begin observing what went on in the large castle in the center of Sendai.

Later that evening he started walking around. He began looking at everything that was going on around the castle, never once keeping his gaze on one thing for longer than a minute. His gaze was constantly shifting from one thing to another, as that was how he gathered information. His side began hurting him again, and he almost fell to his knees. After regaining the breathe he had lost, he quickly ran to a alley to hide. He knew _her _voice was going to ring through his head, and he didn't want anyone else to see what was going to happen.

"I thought you cared about family, young Keno. Or, should I kill more of your family members this time, hmmm?" Keno grabbed his side and clutched his teeth.

"I do care about them. I'm finally in Sendai, so please just give me one day extra. I need to make sure I know everything I can about Date Seiji before I can even attempt to kill him." at this point he heard another voice and knew this voice to be that of Badamon.

"You have no more time. If you don't kill the Date tonight, everyone else in your family will be slaughtered. Do you understand? Our employer want's him dead before the full moon. That is tomorrow. Do it tonight or else." and with that both voices disappeared. Keno once again had to bite back a curse as another wave of pain swept over him. Only then did he notice he was crying. His hand went to his eyes and furiously wiped the tears out of his interesting tiger blue eyes. He then went to the inn where his things were and proceeded to get everything out to make sure he had everything he would need to kill Seiji, and if things went badly, himself. Now all he had to do was wait until night time.

Seiji had been practicing with a few of the guards when he almost fell to his knees. It seemed that he could feel an even darker presence then he had the night before. He also felt someone in pain, extreme pain, and as sudden as it hit, it just disappeared. The guards went to Seiji when he started gasping for air, which is what he had done when the pain had hit him. When he realized what had happened, he waved the guards off, telling them he was suddenly overcome with dizziness. He told them that he just needed some air and he would be fine. He left, went upstairs to his room, and walked to the balcony outside of his room. He had no sooner walked out, when he saw a young man dressed in rather dark looking clothes. Seiji also felt some sort of pain that was bothering the young man. He frowned and shook his head, then turned and went back inside.

A few hours after dark had completely taken over the city, Keno waited until several people had disappeared from the streets, most likely into any of the several saloons or bath houses. He covered the distance to the castle rather quickly. He had managed to blend in with the shadows of the night, even though the moon was almost full. He quickly sneaked in with no problems. It was only once that he had to put a guard into premature sleep. He had decided not to kill any of the guards, as that might alert the other guards, but if a guard was asleep, he would be accused of having to much sake or of being irresponsible. He hid in the shadows of the corridors as he waited for the owners of the many rooms he passed, to either blow out the lamps or to close their doors.

It was thirty minutes after his entrance into the castle, that he came upon what looked like the room of a young woman. She was asleep, but her door was open. He looked in and saw Satsuki laying on her futon, and he almost started to cry. Seeing her lay there asleep, he was reminded of his little sister, Himeno. He looked away and decided to continue on his way. A few rooms further down the hallway, he spotted what seemed like the young Date's room. Upon quick inspection, however, he found the room to be deserted. Where was Date Seiji at this late hour of the night? He saw a sudden flash of light. While the flash of light was not bright enough to hurt his eyes, he had a feeling that the direction the light was coming from where Seiji was. Making sure that his hood was pulled over his slightly longer than shoulder length ponytail, he followed the direction he had seen the light.

He made his way to what seemed like a large sparing room. Weapons and practice weapons lined the room. It looked like it was deserted, except for the two combatants in the room. One of them was a woman with long hair pulled into a braid. The person she was sparring with was a young man, about Keno' s age. This young man however had hair that was golden blonde, and a duller version of the light he had seen earlier, was radiating from the young man. If this man caught him sneaking around the castle, before he could assassionate Seiji, he would be in trouble.

"To think, my little brother, Seiji-san, has gotten better at fighting, since I fought him last. I'm really impressed that he's gotten so good." So that was the eldest granddaughter, Yayoi-san. For a woman, she was exceptionally good.

"My thanks for your compliments, onee-san." Oh shit, that blonde _was_ Seiji-san. He had wondered why Badamon and Shakalli had wanted Seiji killed. Now he knew why. He had always _heard_, that a person born with blonde hair or very light colored hair, was powerfully gifted. Sometimes spiritually gifted, sometimes physically, or mentally gifted. This was bad, he probally sensed him there already. He would have to move fast. He raised his blow dart to his mouth and aimed. Just as he was about to release a dart, Seiji turned toward the door and yelled.

"We're under attack." his sister turned as well and saw what looked like a dark clothed fighter running towards her brother. The fighter drew a katana and swung at her brother. She saw his face lean towards Seiji, and if she wasn't imagining things, she heard something being spoken. The two swordsmen backed away and Seiji told her, quiet urgently,

"Onee-san, get out of here and warn the guards. Get out of here, **now**." Yayoi started to say something but the look on her brother's face told her not to question him. So instead, she nodded and ran out the door. The ninja backed over to the door, took a real spear, and stuck it through the side of the door through the side of the wall. Now only the two of them were in there. Seiji dropped the practice sword he had been using and got a real one. He was surprised to see the ninja waited until he had a no-datchi in his hand and unsheathed it before he struck.

"You are a ninja, yet you didn't attack while my back was to you. May I be so bold as to ask why you did so?" he eyed his opponent as Keno jumped back. Seiji was the one to strike next. As he brought the no-datchi down in a swing, from the upper left to to the lower right, he noted this ninja seemed to be breathing heavier then he should be. The two seperated, and Keno was over come with pain in the lower left side of his ribcage. He almost fell to his knees, but kept from falling. Now however, it seemed that Seiji might know he was injured. He could hear the guards coming, and knew that time was short.

"I'm truly sorry, Date-san. But if I don't kill you, my family will be killed. It's a long story, but it is the truth. So I must do this, please find it within you to forgive me for this." and with that, he pulled out three kunai knives, and got ready to throw them. The guards had been trying to open the door for several seconds. Now they were almost in the sparring room. Seiji looked to see one of his guards nock an arrow and knew it was too late for the ninja.

The ninja in turn had turned 180 degrees and was aiming the kunai knives at the intruding guards. One of them hit a guard in the leg and the other two hit the wall on the opposite side of the hallway. The archer shot the arrow and the ninja was able to jump out of the way. Unfortunately, he landed on his left hand, which somehow had caused his side to start throbbing. The next arrow however, did hit him. It struck him in the exact same location as his previous wound. It caused him so much pain that he cried out.

He hit the floor, and as everything was growing fuzzy, he was aware of someone coming towards him. He heard someone yell something to Seiji, and heard Seiji shout something to the one who had just spoke. He knew he was going to pass out, and he thought that he was probally going to die and he just lay there, waiting for death to claim him. He saw Seiji standing over him, and wished with all his heart, that Seiji would just kill him. Seiji knelt over the wound, before he touched the skin around the arrow. That caused him more pain than he had felt in almost three weeks. He screamed, and all he saw after that, was darkness. And he was content knowing that he was probally dead.


	3. Confrontations and Confessions

Disclaimer: I don't own Yoroiden Samurai Troopers. I only own Shakalli.

Path of a Leader

Chapter 3 Confrontations and Confessions

He was cold. All he had known for what seemed like a short period of time was darkness, and surprisingly, warmth. Now he was cold. What the hell was going on here? He thought that, as a ninja, a taker of lives, he was going to hell. But where was he? All he saw darkness. A very cold darkness. For a brief second, he thought he might still be alive. That thought disappeared quickly though, when he thought of the pain that had racked his surprisingly thin body. But, if he wasn't in hell, or if he wasn't dead either, then where the hell was he?

He saw out of the corner of his right eye, a small ball of fire. That just happened to be floating in midair. It made it's way to him, and stopped a foot away from his face. The ball of fire was maybe eight inches in diameter, and for such a small fire, there was a lot heat radiating from it. Keno felt like the ball of fire was going to kill him. Which was surprising, since he had always loved fire, it always managed to calm him down, if there were no animals with him. The ball floated a few yards away, before turning (if it could possibly turn around), and flying at him. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had hit him in the chest, or even the face. No, instead it hit him in his injured side. He felt like he should scream, but only heard a muffled groan. He also felt as if his body were being held down with something, but he chose to ignore it. The pain he felt from the fire hitting his ribcage was too much. Suddenly he felt the cold slowly give way to warmth, and comfort.

He felt cold again. But this time, he felt cold on the inside, and warm on the outside of his body. He wondered how it was that a dead person could feel this way. Then he felt a presence. Just what was going on here anyway? He felt someone's hand on his fore head. The hand was delicate and warm. The hand withdrew and something was being put on his forehead. Something wet. And cold. Someone was surely torturing him, now that he had made his mind up that he _was still alive_. He heard a woman's voice, and he could almost swear he had heard that voice before.

"Seiji-san, he has a bad fever. I don't know if he can break out of this on his own." Seiji-san? He was still alive? That's right, he had failed in killing the young Date. But, wait. They were talking about him right now, right? _He_ was still alive. That meant that he had failed in dying. Damn. Luck was not with him this month, of that he was sure. "Seiji, as your older sister, I have to ask that _you_ get some rest. He has been unconcious for a while now. You need to get some sleep. If he wakes up, have one of the guards wake you. Please ototo.(Younger brother) For my sake at least." That's it. This woman was Yayoi-san. Seiji-san's onee-san. Just thinking that was making his head hurt.

"Hai, onee-san. I will take your advice and sleep. I need it. After all, it has been a rough past couple of days. Guard, when the 'patient' wakes up, please send someone to wake me. I thank you. Let's go onee-san, you look like you need some sleep as well." 'A rough past couple of days'? Just how long had he been unconcious? Owww, just thinking about it made his head hurt. Well, he did have a fever. Maybe that was what was making his head hurt. In fact, that was what Himeno said once, after she had gotten over a fever. Himeno. Oh, how he missed her and his brothers. He wanted to see them again, but he could never see them again. And that saddened his heart more than anything. The voices of people talking outside slowly faded into the back ground of nothingness.

The next thing he was aware of was his stomach was rumbling. He was hungry, his head still hurt, and he was still cold. He felt himself ball up. Until his left elbow hit his left side, right where his wound was. He bite back a cry and slowly opened his eyes. So he _was_ still alive. That meant that he was going to be questioned about who had hired him and why. And then he was going to be punished, possibly even killed. Well, he was just going to have to fix that.

"You in there. Are you finally awake?" someone said behind him. He slowly turned over onto his back. Then, not wanting to further aggrivate his wound any further, turned his head to his left. He saw a guard looking at him. Well, here goes nothing.

"Hai, I'm _finally _awake." Oh how his throat hurt him. He had been sick this whole time. And his head still hurt. He looked at the ceiling and noticed he must have been in some sort of supply room. Not a prison. He had had to be arrested in order to get his target once before. The prison was much dirtier than his current room. He tried sitting up. But he only succeded in aggitating his wound and making himself dizzy.

He threw his hand up to his head in the hopes that doing that would somehow stop his headache. It only succeded in proving that he still had a fever. Although his forehead was sweaty. What little he knew about wounds, infections, and fevers, told him that his fever was starting to break. That was the _only_ good news, for him at least. He heard a door open and turned his head to see who was paying him a visit. The door was wide open and all he saw was the bright light of the sun. When the door closed partially, he saw, or thought he saw, someone coming towards him with a lamp. His nose told him that there was a tray of food coming towards him as well.

Getting up, slowly this time, he saw a young girl coming towards him. He recognized her as the girl he had seen the night he had attempted to kill Date. Come to think of it, she looked like him. She set the food down a foot from him and turned back to the door. He watched her open the door, sigh quiet angryly, and pick up a tray with a fancy teapot and two cups. 'Two? Why did she bring two?' As she walks back she stares at him. She then sets the tray next to the other tray, and hands him a bowl of soup. He accepts it and then she asks him, rather bluntly.

"Why did you try to kill my onii-san? What would you have gotten out of it anway? My brother is the one who holds this place together, so why did you want to kill him?" so that's why she looked like him. She was the younger sister, Satsuki. Well what was he going to tell her? "Better yet, why did my brother want to help you after what you had done to him?"

"Satsuki-chan, that's quite enough of that." he looked to the door to see Seiji walking through the now open door. 'Being sick is messing with my senses.' Seiji walks over to where Satsuki had been standing. Satsuki looks at her onii-san with a mixture of aggrivation, sadness and worry, before she hands the lamp to him, and leaves. Seiji waits until he hears the door slide shut. "And Satsuki, this conversation is not going to become a fighting match. He is still too weak to fight me and I have no weapons that he may try to take. I will be alright, okay, Satsuki-chan?" he has his eyes closed, but he has a smile on his face.

"Hai, onii-san." Seiji hears her walking away and then sits down next to the food that is on the floor. 'Those two must play this type of game often, if he knows what she will do like that.' Seiji sees that his eating companion is not eating. "Don't tell me you aren't hungry. The other day, you looked like you hadn't eaten in a while. You have to eat something, even if it's a small amount, since you were sick." he looks to see that Satsuki didn't give the 'prisoner' his chopsticks. "Satsuki-chan. Here, maybe now you can eat something." he says as he hands the chopsticks to the young ninja.

"D-d-domo arigato, Date Seiji-san." Keno takes the chopsticks, says a quiet 'I humbly accept this meal' and prosedes in almost inhaling his food. Seiji looks at him, feeling a little pity for the young man. Then he begins pouring tea for the two of them. Keno finishes with the soup and moves on to eat one of the pieces of fish that sits before him. Once he has finished eating that, he looks up to see Seiji is quietly sipping his tea. 'That explains the two cups.' He looks to Seiji to enquire about the other cup. Seiji looks at it, fills it with tea, and then gives it to Keno. "Arigato."

Seiji thinks he can see that this young man is very embarassed to be eating infront of him. When he finishes eating, Keno has eaten almost of the food that had been on the tray. He mumbles quietly, 'I give thanks for this meal' then he bows to Seiji, and once again aggitates his wound. For the first time since waking up however, he notices that the wound hurts less than it has in weeks. He hears the trays being slid across the floor and sees a pair of hands trying to remove the bandage. He looks up to see Seiji-san looks worried.

"Please lift your arm. I want to check your wound. I think it's bleeding again." Keno does what he's told as Seiji removes the bandage only to recoil in shock. "It seems that it's completely healed. I don't know how it could have healed that quickly though. It was terribly infected, when my onee-san looked at it." Keno looks down at his side to see that the only thing left, of the injury he recieved from Shakalli over three weeks ago, is a pink colored scar. 'Now how did that happen?' "You, young ninja, are a very interesting person. The pain you feel is what remains of that wound. That's why you still hurt. Interesting indeed."

"Seiji-san, your imoto(little sister) said that you helped me after I passed out. Why did you do that? I had just tried to kill you. You should have just let me die." Keno spoke softly while he lowered his head. Seiji had had a feeling that this question might come up. For some reason however, he couldn't help, but feel that getting himself caught was what the ninja had wanted to do in the first place.

"I refuse to answer that question, until you answer a few of mine. First, why did you not attack me while my back was to you when we were fighting?" Seiji was quiet as he waited for the other man to answer.

"I originally had no dislike of you. It was only by a twisted person's request that I kill you. You have two sisters and for some reason, maybe because of them, I just couldn't kill you while your back was turned. It was rather unninja like I know, but I just wouldn't kill you. Not like that. And besides everyone I have fought or killed, it was face to face." Keno became quiet. 'Why the hell did I have to say that? Why did I tell him everything?'

"Next question, who wanted to kill me? I was the target, right?"

"Yes you were the target, but as part of my contract, broken or not, I can't tell you who hired me. The ones who hired me said it was their boss that wanted you dead, but I don't know who that was. Sorry." Keno looked rather upset at himself. He had originally thought that they would wait until he had regained some of his strength, and he would be in the presence of weapons, or even _one_ weapon.And he was just answering questions left and right. Maybe it was still the fever, maybe it was the fact that he had just eaten for the first time in, maybe two weeks, or maybe it was guilt. He was so confused, so he settled with mentally scolding himself. If word of this got back to his home, if his family had some how survived, he would be shunned.

"Next question, how did you hurt your side? I know my archers could not possibly inflict infection, especially not that much. So, how did you receive that infected wound?"

"One of the ones who hired me, tried to make me take on this task. He had my entire family held in some sort of forcefield. When I refused, he told her to strike me. I almost beat her, but she caught me in a moment of surprise. She had a sword coming at me from the right, and I didn't see the short sword coming at me from the left, until it was too late. Her short sword was what nailed me."

"I see. Now, here's another question. What is your name? I know you probably aren't supposed to tell and you aren't supposed to tell your captors anything. But everyone thinks you are now dead. Now what's your name?" 'Everyone thinks I'm dead? What the hell does he mean?'

"My name is Sanada Keno." 'Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Why did I just tell him that?

"That's a very interesting name. Now if I may ask. Do you like any other names? Like Ichiro, Toshio, or anything else?" 'Has Seiji-san been smoking bad grass or something?' But he felt he had to answer that question.

"Well, I like the name I have, but I do like the name, Ryo. That used to be my cousin's name. Why does it matter which name I like or not, Seiji-san? I can understand why you asked my name, but why ask me something like that?"

"Because, that's your new name. Sanada Keno died from his wounds the night he tried to kill me. You're his cousin Sanada Ryo." And with that he called for the guard at the door to summon a servant to take the dihes away. And all this time the poor young ninja felt like he just might pass out from shock. At the door Seiji turned and said, "Until I see you again, my friend."

"Seiji-sama, who is that young man in there?"

"That is my friend and new bodyguard, Sanada Ryo." and with that Seiji shut the door. This was just to much for Keno, er Ryo to absorb. 'Why did he just change my name like that? No doubt to help me start a new life, but why? And why his new bodyguard? My head hurts from thinking too much.' he lay down and it didn't take too long for him to fall back asleep.'Maybe it was all just a dream.'

Meanwhile Satsuki, Yayoi, Seiji and one of Seiji's guards stood in the hall out side of the door.

"Onii-san, why did you do that? He could try to kill you again."

"No he won't, Satsuki-chan. He was forced to attack me against his will. He is a good person, I can sense it. He will not try to attack me again. Besides, he deserves some kind of break, don't you think? Word has been sent out that a young male ninja that tried to kill me, died from the wounds given to him by my guards. Now that I know what his real name is, I can conform who it was. Word will spread that I'm still alive, and that Sanada Keno is dead. The ones who are holding his family hostage, will release them, and try to kill me themselves. And I will deal with them myself. That's all there is to it." and with that, Seiji walked down the hall to the door that lead outside.


	4. Friends and Past Aquantainces

Discliamer: I don't own Samurai Troopers. I only own Shakalli. And anyone else not from the original story. And one more thing. There will be no yaoi pairings. Or Kayura/Troopers pairings, or Kayura/Masho pairings. It may seem like this story will be Kayura/Ryo, but isn't.

The Path of a Leader

Chapter 4 Friends and past Aquantaintces

'I'm going to kick his ass. I may have to wait until I get my hands on my katanas, but I will definately kick his ass.' Ryo thought as he sat in 'his' room playing with his red shirt. It had been five days since he woke up, ate, and drank tea with Seiji-san. Since then, he had bathed four times, been given new clothes, and had even won over Yayoi-san and Satsuki-san. While the younger of the two still didn't trust him completely, she definately liked him more. However, Seiji-san had ordered a guard to be posted outside of the room in order to keep Ryo from running away, or from 'borrowing' a weapon and killing himself.

Even though he really didn't like being cooped up in there until he wanted to use the restroom or take a bath, he knew Seiji-san wanted to keep him out of danger. And to keep him from causing a scene within the castle. Seiji-san had also said that his fiance would not like being within the same castle as a ninja, they really did scare her. So he was left with nothing to do, except annoy his guard. And that was the only thing that gave him something to do, other than go to the restroom, the bath, eat and sleep. But even he knew when not to irritate the guard. It's just that that didn't happen that often.

"Oi, Tomokazu-san. What game shall we play today?" he asked the already irritated guard. He had learned the first full day he was awake, that Tomokazu disliked Ryo teasing him about his size. He was shorter than some of the guards and heavier than them too. And Ryo loved cracking jokes.

"Hey, you know that I don't like participating in any of the games you like to play. So stop pestering me with your questions." 'Uh oh, he's mad already. This is starting to get good'

"Aww, do you have so mean to me? I'm already upset because I'm stuck in here all the time. And now your being so mean to me." he sounded like his feelings were hurt, but in all acuallity, he was trying ununsuccessfully not to laugh. 'He gets so riled up easily. Just like me. Maybe I should tell him that.' Ryo pulled a ten inch length of fabric out ofthepocket of his navy blue pants and pulled his unruly mop of hair up in to a ponytail. When he was finished, his hair was pulled up to the back of his head. Not as high as the top of his head, like a samurai might wear it, but not as low as the nape of his neck either. He heard a shuffling out side of the door, and heard the guard say something to Seiji-san before he entered.

"Ryo, I need to ask you something." Seiji said as he opened the door. Ryo saw his form appear in the door way and bowed his head in respect for Seiji. "Ryo, you couldn't sleep last night, am I correct?" 'Damnhe's good.' Ryo nodded. "Why couldn't you sleep? You were in some sort of pain. And I could feel it."

"I had a nightmare. I don't know what it was about, but it had something to do with someone coming here, with danger following them. It might have been following me, but I'm not certain."

"Do you have dreams like that, often?" 'That was a very good question.'

"Only every now and then. And I don't know why either. I just do." Seiji looked as though he had just come across a riddle. Then someone pushed Seiji out of the doorway.

"Here's your lunch, Ryo-san."

"Arigato, Satsuki-san." Ryo took the tray out of her hands and walked to the center of the room. Seiji gave his sister a look of aggitation for pushing him like she had, but wasn't allowed to dwell on it. Another guard came running up to Seiji before coming to astop and bowing before the young master.

"Seiji-sama, there are two people here to see you. They wear the robes of the Ancients. And they say it is important."

"Take me to them then." Seiji turns to follow the guard, when Ryo's hand reaches out and grabs Seiji's arm. He looks up to see that Ryo looks disturbed by something. The look on his face makes Seiji curious about this meeting.

"Seiji-san, please be careful. I've got a bad feeling about this. The Ancient clan has been thought to have been extinct. I know they were most likely hiding, but why have they suddenly decided to show their faces? And why here of all places? Something doesn't bode well about all this." He drops his grip from Seiji's arm, but his face still shows concern. Seiji wonders what has caused this turn about in his friend's cheerful mood.

"They won't do anything. But I will be careful. They will most likely tell me why they need to see me. Nothing bad will happen." 'At least I hope not' Seiji thinks to himself. And then turns to follow the guard to his guests. Satsuki and Tomokazu are staring at Ryo. Neither has seen him this deturmined about anything. Ryo realizes that they are staring at him and he closes his door and returns to his food. Still a little nervous about what will happen.

A minute later Seiji-san has been led to his guests. He was greeted by a young woman with hair the color of the midnight sky. Her hair goes down to her knees. Seiji sees a type of wrinkle her hair and decides she must normally wear her up on top of her head. He also sees an old man with white hair. However, upon closer inspection, his hair is the only thing that looks old, for his face, and posture, are that of a young man. In his left hand is a shakujo. Seiji bows in their presence and they return the gesture.

"I have been told that the two of you are from the Ancient clan. May I ask why the two of you are here asking for an audience with me?" Seiji was still more than a little worried about what Ryo had said. Ryo had his gifts, and Seiji had his own. And one of those gifts told him that there was definately following these two, so he had to be cautious.

"To be completely honest, Seiji-san, we are in search of nine young men with various abilities and fighting skills. My apprentice, Kayura and I think that one of those young men is you. We need these fighters to take on a dangerous task. To fight a demon named Arago. And I think that there is another in this castle." 'Well at least he's being honest. But what could he mean by me being one of these warriors?' Seiji thought to himself.

"You have gifts that even you don't know about, Seiji-san. And we think those gifts will help you and those who you are to fight alongside in combat." the young woman named Kayura spoke with such strength.

"I hate to tell you this, but I only have one gift. And that is to tell if someone is telling the truth or not. I know that you are telling the truth, but I must now ask you to leave my presence. I understand that you must have been riding for a while and I will provide rooms for you to stay in for a couple of days. However you are mistaken about me being a famous and 'supposed' warrior." and with that Seiji turned to leave. He din't see Kayura run behind him, jump in front of him and place both of her hands on his head.

"Aaahhhh." was all he could say before being over come with pain. He could feel someone, or something, searching through his thoughts. A wave of pain sweeps over him and he becomes aware of doing things he had no memory of doing. He knows that he could tell when someone is lying, but somehow he knows that he can also tell if there is a shift in someones emotions. And he also becomes aware that it was _he_ who healed Ryo's wound. These new abilities seemed almost subconsious and it seemed to him that he had healed Ryo's wound while being unconsious. That was strange. At last Kayura let go of his head, and he feels like he could pass out.

"You _are_ one of the nine." is all Kayura says. Seiji's guards on on her almost immediately. The older of the two, or older looking of the two, walks to Seiji.

"It would seem as though you hold more power than you know."

"Stand down. Release your hold on her. Now." Seiji doesn't need to repeat himself. Kayura is released immediately. Trying to steady himself, Seiji uses his no-datchi to help himself stand. "Oookay, the two of you have proved yourselves." Seiji holds a hand to his head to ward off his now growing headache, and to his surprise, it completely disappears. "Now, you say that there is another within the castle, right? So where is he?" The man holds the shakujo above his head and a light emits from it. A few seconds later, he lowers it and the light vanishes.

"Upstairs." and that's all he says. Seiji has a funny feeling that the young man now in question, is Ryo. He doesn't say anything. He nods his head to signal for them to go on up the stairs. The two turn towards the stairs before going up them, Seiji trailing several yards behind them. He looks at his guards and tells them everything is going to be okay.

Upstairs, Ryo has only eaten half of his food. He brings the rest to the door and hands it to a servant. Satsuki, Tomokazu, and now Yayoi are waiting outside his room, waiting for an explaination. They don't get the chance as two strangely dressed people come walking down the hall. Ryo, who still has his door open, hears someone approaching, looks out to see the pair walking towards him. This bothers him as Seiji is following them, looking like he has just weathered a typhoon. And upon closer inspection of the two, he cringes. This was definately not his month. The man with the shakujo looks to see Ryo and a smile grin appears upon his face. Kayura sees Ryo and becomes deep in thought. The man walks to Ryo, stands in front of him, and tells Seiji,

"This is the young man I was talking about. And he is also, your leader, Seiji-san." 'Leader, what _is_ he talking about? Kaos, that's his name. But what _is_ he talking about?' Ryo knows better than to speak in the presence of someone as Kaos, leader of the Ancient clan. Especially after the last time he ran into him. Kayura is now frowning. 'So _she_ remembers the last time the three of us had a confrontation. That's not good.'

"Kaos-san, it's been awhile hasn't it? It's been, what nine years now?" Ryo tries to talk his way out of the trouble he knows he's in. And Seiji, although apparently not all there, definately sences the tremendous shift in emotions, and can't help but wonder why.


	5. The New Mission

Disclaimer: I don't own Samurai Troopers. Just Shakalli. And if the story seems a little slow, well that's because I'm trying to choose which of my ideas to use in this story. Oh and if anyone reading this story is a fan of, or is, or has read my other story 'Cursed Maidens', it may take a while for me to come up with newer chapters. As for this story, I bring to you, chapter 5 of 'The Path of a Leader'.

The Path of a Leader

Chapter 5 The New Mission

"It seems that time has treated you better than I had anticipated. But worse than it has treated me, _Keno_-kun." Hearing his old name, made Ryo cringe. Kaos saw this and filed this action away for future conversations. Seiji looks at Ryo and can't help, but feel sorry for him. He hears someone clearing their throat and sees his sisters and Tomokazu are all looking at him, as if to ask what this is all about.

"Kaos-sama, are you absolutely sure that he is one of the nine? Let alone that he is the leader?" Kayura, it seems, likes to voice her opinions.

"Hai, Kayura-kun. I am absolutely positive about this. He _is_ the leader. Judge for yourself." And with that, Kaos steps out of the way, so that Kayura can walk up to Ryo and read his mind, exactly like she did to Seiji only minutes earlier. She places her right hand on the left side of Ryo's forehead and her left hand on the right side of his forehead. And closes her eyes in consentration.

The next thing Ryo knows, is pain. Not the pain he has become accustomed to over the past three and a half weeks. No, this pain felt more like someone was looking through his memories and trying to remove various ones. A few seconds later, and Ryo almost passed out. Seiji feels sympathy for him, as Kayura had done the same thing to him. She frowns and shakes her head.

"I can't believe it. How is this possible? Why of all people is he one of the nine?" Satsuki, tired of being left out of the loop, steps toward the others and asks, as politly as she can,

"I sorry, but _what the hell is going on here_?" Ryo, Seiji, and Kayura turn to look at her, stunned to see her there. Kaos, who hasn't taken his eyes off of Ryo since first talking to him, merely smiles. He slowly turns his unseen gaze toward the young woman, and Ryo is relieved. He knows that Kaos-san was staring at him to determine if he was worthy of something. And Ryo didn't like someone staring him down like that. 'Nice save Satsuki-san, that is a very good question.'

"Satsuki-san, my name is Kaos. This young woman with me is, Kayura-kun, she is my apprentice. The two of us are on a mission to collect nine special, skilled warriors in order to fight a powerful demon named Arago. We know that your older brother is one of those warriors and the young man here is another of those warriors. Or rather, he is the leader of these nine warriors. Arago is a very dangerous demon. For several decades, no for a few centuries, he has been locked away in the Youjakai. Over the years, the seal holding him back has weakened. And as of six months ago, he was freed for his prison. There is more to the story, but instead of rambling on and on, if you, or anyone else here has questions, we will answer them. Is that okay with everyone?" he says as he looks from Satsuki to Yayoi, to Tomokazu, to Seiji, to Ryo and looks back to Satsuki. Everyone can only nod, as they are to awe struck to speak.

"Kaos-san, I've heard of a story similar to the one you have told us. But I heard that instead of nine warriors, there were nine people that used the different abilities of nature to seal Arago away. Could you please explain that to us?" Yayoi had won several stares with that question. Kaos' smile slowly disappeared, but he had just promised to answer questions. He took a deep breath and readied himself for the explaination.

"You are very learned on this subject, Yayoi-san. True, they were not warriors, and they _did_ use the abilities of nature. They died after using those abilities, either because they couldn't fight and defend themselves, or they were badly injured before they sealed him away. The elemental and seasonal abilities they had have found there way to nine new persons, nine warriors. This time, they will not be killed or defeated. Thye will be able to kill Arago. I have seen their fates. These nine will live into their 60's, 70's, and even 80's. But Kayura-kun and I need them to fight Arago. They are the _only_ ones that can fight him. If any of the nine choose not to fight, none of them can fight, and_ no one _else can even stand a chance of defeating him. That is why we need your younger brother and your _guest_ to help us fight Arago. Does that answer your question?" Yayoi nods slowly as her sister and Tomokazu try to pick their jaws up off of the ground. Seiji can only stare at Kaos, who is most definately telling the truth. Kayura and Ryo are, seemingly, the only ones who are not listening, as they are busy having a staring contest with each other.

Finally after, maybe ten or fifteen minutes, Kayura growls at Ryo and he returns the favor. Kaos looks to the two of them before sighing and shaking his head. Kayura, who looks like she might just strangle Ryo, finally screams.

"I can't figure out how you can be one on the elemental users. I knew I remembered you from almost a decade ago. After looking through your memories, I now know why you looked familiar. You're the one who burned our wagon." at this everyone, except Kaos, is staring at Ryo. He only stares at Kayura, with a snarled mouth. (Like an angry dog.) "Kaos-sama and I were only passing through the forests of Yamanashi, when we came across what looked like a small village in the middle of a forest. We weren't causing any trouble, or trying to cause any trouble. I didn't know then how you did it, but now I know how you did it. What I want to know is why you did it? Hmmm? Why did you set our wagon on fire?" Ryo, still snarling at her, growls again, before he catches himself and starts to calm down. It takes a few minutes, but he finally calms down, well mostly anyway.

"I told you then, and I'll tell you now. **I did not set your wagon on fire.** Why do you think _I_ was the one who set it on fire? And _if_ I had, it would have been because you two were trespassing. Got anymore questions, Lady Kayura?" Kayura looks at Seiji as if to ask him if Ryo is telling the truth. Seiji nods his head and Kayura turns white. She looks back to Ryo and again reads his mind, but this time can do so without having to touch Ryo's head. (She can do so now just by looking at him.)

_She sees young 'Keno' playing with an older girl, his onee-chan. She sees the two of them playing until Keno's onee-chan spots Kaos-sama and Kayura riding on their horses and the wagon being pulled behind them. Keno and his onee-chan hide behind some trees. His onee-chan gets angry and after the wagon passes the two ninja, she points the first two fingers of her left hand, at it. Keno sees what his sister is doing and stops her._

_"Onee-chan, what are you doing? You'll only get in trouble. They'll see you and take us back to the village, or punish us themselves. Please don't onee-chan."_

_"No, Keno they need to be taught a lesson. Anyone who comes, wether to have one of us kidnap, injury, or kill someone, always brings misfortune upon themselves and their enemies. They will be punished for whatever they are doing here." and with that she pionts her fingers at Kaos and Kayura. Keno pushes her hand back toward the wagon. The wagon is set aflame. _Kayura sees this from Keno's point of veiw. She gasps, if it hadn't been for Keno, she and Kaos-sama would have badly injured. _Keno saved them from injury and got himself in trouble to keep his sister, who was on the verge of being kicked out of the village. After he couldn't defend himself against Kayura's accusations in front of the entire village, he was the one who was punished. His sister wasn't accused and she choose not to use her fire starting abilities anymore._ And Kayura had wrongfully blamed him. Oops.

"Keno-kun. If I'm not mistaken, you are related to Sanada Kira, right?" Ryo turned from Kayura to look at Kaos with shock. 'How does he know that?' He nods.

"My father told me that she was his older sister. How do you know her?"

"She is the oldest child of a young woman, who was from our clan." Kayura looks to Kaos and then back to Ryo. "Which means, that you have the blood of the Ancients flowing through your veins. The Ancients are always the ones to be chosen to fight demons like Arago. You _are_ the _leader_ of this group.You have _no_ choice. The others may choose not to fight, but they will not have a chioce in the matter. I'm truly sorry. Should any of the others decide not to fight,_ you will _have to change their minds. The nine of you are the only ones. If you don't fight, all is lost." Kaos says before turning to face the other five in the hallway. "Seiji-san, if I may be so rude as to ask if Kayura-kun and I can be shown to our rooms. Everyone here will need a few days rest. The four of us need to desprately leave four days from now." Seiji nods and he walks past Seiji and back down the stairs with Kayura following suit.

'I'm truly sorry, but there is no other choice, young warriors.' he thinks sadly. His voice echos in the minds of Ryo and Seiji and they know they will have to fight, in order to protect what they love and care about. They look at each other before Seiji asks Yayoi and Satsuki to retrieve Ryo's horse, weapons and other things. He motions for Ryo to go with them and gather what he will need for this mission.

Ryo follows, but is suddenly over come with an image of himself, Kayura, and Seiji fighting Shakalli, Kayura now holding the shakujo in her hands. Kaos lying dead on the ground in front of them. Ryo regains his composure and sighs. The next few days are going to be very bad ones. He continues to follow Seiji-sans sisters down stairs.

Animefreak99-06 here again. Sorry for taking a long time to update minna-san. I had A.D.D. in middle school and high school, so that might be one reason. (I continue to be scatter-brained as a young adult.) And I'm also lazy. Gomen-nasai. Ja Na.


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